Sunday, December 2, 2012

My Writing Journey Part II

As I said in an earlier post, I’m telling my writing journey
in parts. If you missed part I, click here. And now with part II:

Jan 19, 2009. The day I wrote my first sentence. (Strangely,
I’ve always remembered that date). We had finished two rounds of chemo
treatments with our son, and like I said, reading wasn’t enough anymore. It
couldn’t transport me—not with the stress. I needed a challenge. Something that
could distract me from real life.

So I thought, “I can write a book. If reading won’t give me
what I need, maybe I can create it.”

So I wrote. I dug deep into who I used to be as a child and
tried to summon any kind of magic I still possessed and let it spill onto
paper. And I thought I was pretty good. Thought. I joined an online critique group (on yahoo, I believe) and found out
pretty quick I had A LOT to learn.

But I wasn’t afraid to ask for help. I remember one guy
telling me I needed to learn how to “Show not tell.” I had no idea what that
meant, so I Googled it.Yes, I
Googled “Show not tell!”

And that’s when I met my first writing angel. For some
unknown reason, brilliant author, Jason Matthews, decided to take me under his
wing. He taught me how to write. Showed me the difference between passive and
active voice, how to eliminate unnecessary words, make my writing as tight as
possible. But at the same time, I immersed myself into any craft book I could
find. I had purpose again, and I wanted to master this craft.

I put myself out there, continued to do the online
critiquing, when I heard about an online community called inkpop. The idea of
this site was to upload your work, people would then vote or “pick” your
project, and if you made it into the top 5 by the end of the month, the prize
was a review from a HarperCollins editor.

So on Jan 1, 2010, I submitted the first 10,000 words of my
first novel. I didn’t expect what happened next. Within two weeks, my story
rocketed past 30,000 projects and landed in the number one spot. The
opportunity connected me to people I still consider my closest friends today.

That was when I knew I could do this. Er… when I had
confidence and thought I could do this.
Little did I know it was barely the beginning.

A few months later (I’m 28 at this point), I got pregnant with our 4th
child. I still had only 10K written with my first novel and it stayed that way
for the rest of the year. For some reason (I blame it on preggo craziness), my
brain shut down completely for the next 9 months. I couldn’t write. But I could
read again. I spent the whole pregnancy
devouring books, this time with a different eye. I knew that for whatever
reason the creative juices had left, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still
progress.

I continued to study, as well as find the magic again in
reading.

It wasn’t two days after I had the baby that inspiration
struck hard. I was ready to write again, and this time with a vengeance.

And this is where I’m sad to stop the story, because in the
next segment, not only do I finish my first novel, query, and meet my agent for
the first time, it’s also the darkest part of my journey.

Thanks for sharing the ups and downs of your journey as a writer and a mom. Your story is both brave and inspirational. I love that you threw yourself into writing and worked really hard to improve. Such a good reminder about the determination it requires to be a good writer.

I think I had the same reaction as Alex. It got darker? Without knowing what's coming, but seeing you where you are today, the saying I've heard all my life rings true. "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." You seem to be proof of that. Looking forward to the continuation.

You're very motivational and inspirational, Morg! You're one to look up to! I love hearing your unique writer's journey. Reading your posts are making me think, should I do this too later on - write about my writing journey on my blog?

It's interesting how while reading this I thought back on what projected me into my writing "career," and I have to say, I've had similar mile posts. I like to think of them as God's way of ensuring I didn't (don't) give up.

Hi Morgan .. love the end of the post Red.Head.Out - hadn't spotted that before ... very interesting to read the different phases you're going through .. part three sounds kind of sad ... but you're here so it must turn out all right eventually ... cheers to one busy lady - Hilary

While every journey has dark spaces where the path is overgrown and hard to see, every journey has pinnacles where we can see not only the way we've come, but the direction we need to take and the goals along the way. I think it's important to be aware of our journey. It keeps us from getting lost, helps us focus on what we need.

I love this. People rag on Twilight, but I love how many realized they love reading because of this book. After I read it, I was your mother in law--giving it to everyone to read and getting way too excited when it made people love reading and they wanted other suggestions from me. It's almost like setting up a couple that ends up getting married. That's a lovely feeling, too.

I started writing when my son's health problems got overwhelming as well. In their kindness, people tried to give me books about other people who's kids had down syndrome or lots of surgeries or other things that I didn't want to think about and I'd always say: I'm living it, I don't want to read it, too. I poured a lot of it into my second book (one I'm querying) and I think that that book will forever go down as my favorite I've ever written, no matter what happens with it.

You inspire me so much! You remind me so much of my sister, who has a child with Cystic Fibrosis. Despite the craziness that is the "hospital life" she is still working her way through nursing school. You guys push me to make the most of my situation, whether it's a broken spine or mono (or both), and to go after the things in life that I want. I thank you for that push.

I loved this post... it evoked a mixture of emotions... tugged at something inside... I could "feel" your ups and downs... but ultimately, it made me realise that I'm not alone on this writing journey. There are others out there who have been through/are still going through the the different phases of this crazy yet unbelievably exhilirating journey... Thanks Morgan!

I had to come back and read this because I could never get the first part out of my head. Moving on to the next part! (You sure know how to hook a gal!) I love writing angels! And when I was pregnant I couldn't write a damn word!